The role of educational
institutions in fostering
vocations
Gavin Moodie
RMIT University
NATIONAL VOCATIONAL EDUCATION
AND TRAINING RESEARCH PROGRAM
WORKING PAPER
The views and opinions expressed in this document are those of the author/
project team and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Australian Government,
state and territory governments or NCVER.
Any interpretation of data is the responsibility of the author/project team.
Publisher’s note
Additional information relating to this research is available in The role of educational institutions in
fostering vocations: support document. It can be accessed from NCVER’s website
<http://www.ncver.edu.au/publications/2537.html>.
© Commonwealth of Australia, 2012
With the exception of the Commonwealth Coat of Arms, the Department’s logo, any material protected
by a trade mark and where otherwise noted all material presented in this document is provided under a
Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Australia <http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/au> licence.
The details of the relevant licence conditions are available on the Creative Commons website
(accessible using the links provided) as is the full legal code for the CC BY 3.0 AU licence
<http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/legalcode>.
The Creative Commons licence conditions do not apply to all logos, graphic design, artwork and
photographs. Requests and enquiries concerning other reproduction and rights should be directed to the
National Centre for Vocational Education Research (NCVER).
This document should be attributed as Moodie, G 2012, The role of educational institutions in fostering
vocations, NCVER, Adelaide.
ISBN
978 1 922056 33 7
TD/TNC 109.20
Published by NCVER, ABN 87 007 967 311
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About the research
The role of educational institutions in fostering vocations
Gavin Moodie, RMIT University
This research explores how the connections between qualifications and work can be improved to help
strengthen educational pathways and occupational outcomes. This working paper is an initial
examination of what is known about pathways in tertiary education as well as the loose associations
between vocational qualifications and the jobs graduates do. The next stage of the research will
explore these pathways in more detail through interviews with tertiary students, graduates, teaching
staff and managers.
This paper is part of a wider three-year program of research, ‘Vocations: the link between postcompulsory education and the labour market’, which is investigating both the educational and
occupational paths that people take and how their study relates to their work. This particular paper
looks at these pathways within and between VET and higher education.
Moodie is also interested in the link between educational qualifications and work. He notes that these
are not as strong as might be expected in a vocationally oriented tertiary education system like
Australia’s. The next part of the research will therefore consider whether broader notions of
occupation can deliver closer matches between skills and occupations.
Tom Karmel
Managing Director, NCVER
Contents
Tables and figures
5
Introduction
6
Tertiary education pathways
8
The loose fit between vocational qualifications and work
14
Relating educational and occupational progression
19
Previous studies
19
Occupational and educational progression
23
Discussion
26
Conclusion
30
Acknowledgment
30
References
31
Support document details
33
NVETR Program funding
34
4
The role of educational institutions in fostering vocations
Tables and figures
Tables
1
Basis of admission of domestic undergraduate students, 2008
2
Basis of admission of domestic bachelor students commencing
8
Australian higher education in 2008
10
3
Vocational students’ highest prior education level, 2009
12
4
Vocational students’ highest prior education level, by field of
education, 2009 (%)
13
5
ANZSCO skill levels and corresponding education levels
15
6
VET graduates in 2007 who were employed 6 months after graduation
showing the occupation for which they were trained, % employed in
intended occupation and relevance of training to occupation not
intended by training
7
Workers who left their job in 2001 and their skills match in 2002
and 2005
8
16
20
Net flows of workers into broad occupational groups by sex and age
cohort, 1996—2001
22
Figures
1
Vocational education’s internal relations and relations with work
23
2
Higher education’s internal relations and relations with work
23
3
Nursing’s educational and occupational relations
24
4
Educational and occupational relations in some health fields
24
NCVER
5
Introduction
Education serves three purposes: to develop students’ capacities to lead fulfilling lives, to contribute
to desirable social ends such as developing students as citizens, and to contribute to desirable
economic ends such as preparing students for work and a productive life. All levels and most types of
education serve all three purposes, but with different emphases. Primary education mostly develops
pupils’ capacities to lead fulfilling lives, but its development of pupils’ literacy and numeracy and its
socialisation of pupils into groups begin their preparation as citizens and workers. Indeed, most
Australian workers had only primary schooling until the middle of the twentieth century. Over the last
two decades primary schooling’s balance of individual development and social and economic
preparation has been broadly continued into secondary education in liberal market economies such as
in the United States, the United Kingdom and Australia. However, in Australia, the fast-expanding
programs of vocational education in schools, including the Certificate of Applied Learning in Victoria,
may be introducing a vocational track into upper secondary education. There are different
arrangements in the coordinated market economies of Germany and other northern European
countries, where the social partners of government, employers and unions more actively coordinate
the supply of training and employment. There, upper secondary education tends to divide into two
tracks. One track, followed by a minority of pupils in Germany, concentrates on academic and general
development which prepares pupils for further education, typically in disciplinary knowledge. The
other track, followed by a majority in Germany, concentrates either on prevocational education,
which prepares pupils for subsequent specialised tertiary vocational education, or on vocational
education, which prepares pupils for work upon completion of secondary education. Thus, much
vocational education is at the secondary level in northern continental Europe and even in the US some
upper secondary education is vocational — or career and technical education as it is called there.
Tertiary education also develops students’ individual abilities, their capacities as citizens and their
capacity for productive activity or work. Tertiary education serves these roles differently for
different programs but also for different students. Students study the same program for different
reasons. For example, some students in Australia undertake a certificate III in information technology
to become an information technology support technician, some to understand and operate their home
computer system independently and some to progress to a diploma and thence to a bachelor of
information technology. Nonetheless, most Australian tertiary education has more emphasis on
preparing students for work than primary and most secondary education, and this is the subject of the
current project ‘Vocations: the link between post compulsory education and the labour market’,
funded by the National Centre for Vocational Education Research (NCVER). The project has three
interrelated strands:

Strand 1: entry to vocations — how to improve occupational and further study outcomes from
entry-level vocational education and training (VET) including VET in Schools and certificates I
and II

Strand 2: the role of educational institutions in fostering vocations — how to improve occupational
outcomes and educational pathways within vocational education and between vocational and
higher education

Strand 3: the nature of vocations today and their potential improvement — how to improve the
development and use of skills in the primary industry, health, electrical/engineering and finance
sectors and the relationship between qualifications and skills in these sectors.
6
The role of educational institutions in fostering vocations
This working paper raises issues relevant to Strand 2: the role of educational institutions in fostering
vocations. It starts by outlining briefly what is known about pathways in tertiary education. It then
describes the issue that stimulated this strand: the rather loose association between vocational
qualifications completed by graduates and the jobs they do. The loose fit between qualifications and
jobs isn’t necessarily a problem, but it seems inconsistent with the very vocational nature of
Australian vocational education, which is based on work competencies.
Most studies of education, qualifications and skills matches are static: they compare a person’s
current education, qualification and/or skills with their current job. This is because there are only a
few limited longitudinal studies that may support a dynamic analysis of the matching of a person’s
education, qualification and skills to their career. Yet this seems to be important for people,
employers, governments and society as a whole. A person’s current job may not be well matched with
their education, qualification and/or skills but the match may improve with more experience or time
in the labour market. Alternatively, a person’s education, qualification and skills may have been well
matched with their employment for a long time but may be less well matched with their current job
for a short period or as a staged wind-down to semi-retirement. This is discussed in the second part of
the paper, which posits a framework for relating educational and occupational progression.
The working paper concludes by anticipating the future direction of the strand’s research.
NCVER
7
Tertiary education pathways
Student transfer in tertiary education and, more generally, tertiary education pathways have been
much studied in the United States, Canada, Australia and the United Kingdom. The main sources of
quantitative data on student transfers in Australia are considered extensively in a support document
to this paper (available at <http://ncver.edu.au/publications/2537.html>). The main part of this
paper presents the data available to inform the primary issue considered in the paper, the role of
educational institutions in fostering vocations.
Tertiary education gives students opportunities to progress or transfer from a program that prepares
graduates for one occupation to a program that prepares them for a higher level in the same
occupation, for another occupation or for a qualification of a lower level. In the language of student
transfer studies, transfer may be upward, horizontal or reverse. Thus, a student may transfer from a
diploma of nursing, which prepares them as an enrolled or division 2 nurse, to a bachelor of nursing,
which prepares them as a registered or division 1 nurse. Alternatively, they may transfer to a diploma
of business administration, which prepares them for the role of an office administrator, or to a
certificate IV in health supervision, which prepares them for a role as a supervisor in an operational
unit in a healthcare service.
The data most commonly used to analyse tertiary education pathways are government aggregations of
institutions’ statistical reports on their enrolments. The relevant data elements from the Australian
Government’s higher education statistical collection are set out in the support document to this
paper, which also describes some of its major limitations in coverage and quality. Because of these
limitations Australian studies of student transfer from vocational to higher education rely most
heavily on the basis for admission to the student’s current program. The basis for admission of
domestic students to undergraduate programs in 2008, as reported by higher education institutions, is
shown in table 1.
Table 1
Basis of admission of domestic undergraduate students, 2008
Basis of admission
%
Completed or incomplete higher education program
23
Secondary education
45
Completed or incomplete VET award program
9
Mature-age special entry provisions
6
A professional qualification
1
Other basis
14
Not stated
Total
2
100
Source: Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations (2008).
These data are not accurate for at least two reasons. First, because Australian universities’
admissions are dominated by the Australian tertiary entrance rank (TER), which is derived from
secondary education, many students who have completed both secondary education and a vocational
program are likely to be reported as being admitted on the basis of their secondary education.
Secondly, institutions have inconsistent and not universally reliable ways of collecting these data:
some collect them from students; some collect them from staff (although usually not the staff who
decided the student’s admission); some derive them from students’ prior educational attainment; and
8
The role of educational institutions in fostering vocations
some report the coding of their state tertiary admissions centre. Nonetheless, with that caveat, it is
worth examining these data in more detail.
Table 2 shows the number of domestic students commencing an undergraduate program in 2008 for
each field of education and the number and proportion admitted on the basis of a completed or
incomplete vocational program. It will be noted, for example, that of the 922 students admitted to an
undergraduate program in the mathematical sciences, only 16, or 1.7%, were admitted on the basis of
a vocational program. Only 3.5% of students commencing an undergraduate program in the natural
and physical sciences were admitted on the basis of vocational studies, much lower than the modest
average of 9%. This is probably because the natural and physical sciences depend heavily on the
sequential accumulation of disciplinary knowledge and skills, neither of which are developed
extensively by Australian vocational education.
The proportion of students admitted on the basis of a vocational education program is rather higher in
information technology at 12%, which is expected. The proportions are very variable in engineering,
probably due to a combination of variable student interest, preparation and university selection
practices. The very high 43.2% reported for manufacturing engineering and technology is due to
Victoria University admitting 18 of its 31 students in this field on the basis of a vocational program.
The proportion of health students admitted on the basis of a vocational program is also very variable,
but particularly noteworthy is the high 22.1% of nursing students admitted on the basis of a vocational
program. Arguably, this should be higher because institutions reported that they admitted 3.5% of
their nursing students on the basis of a professional qualification; many of these would be enrolled
nurses with the equivalent of a certificate or diploma of nursing.
The relatively high 13.2% of education students admitted on the basis of a vocational program may be
vocational teachers seeking a higher educational qualification or qualification as a school teacher.
The relatively high 11.6% of management and commerce students admitted on the basis of a
vocational program is expected, as are the detailed fields with the highest proportions. Again, one
would expect the high proportions of students admitted on the basis of vocational education in
librarianship, information management and curatorial studies (36.8%), justice and law enforcement
(24.1%), human welfare studies and services (14.9%) and sport and recreation (14.3%), and the low
proportions in the liberal arts and social sciences. This is because these fields of education are more
vocationally specific than the liberal arts and social sciences.
NCVER
9
Table 2
Basis of admission of domestic bachelor students commencing Australian higher education
in 2008
Basis of admission
Total
VET basis
% VET basis
Natural and physical sciences
5 301
131
2.5
Mathematical sciences
922
16
1.7
Physics and astronomy
196
7
3.6
Chemical sciences
321
12
3.7
Earth sciences
244
9
3.7
3 042
194
6.4
3.3
Biological sciences
Other natural and physical sciences
9 050
297
18 898
664
3.5
531
59
11.1
Computer science
2 001
227
11.3
Information systems
1 561
239
15.3
Other information technology
1 832
186
10.2
Sub-total information technology
5 853
704
12.0
Engineering and related technologies
3 531
181
5.1
44
19
43.2
1 188
12
1.0
Sub-total natural and physical sciences
Information technology
Manufacturing engineering and technology
Process and resources engineering
Automotive engineering and technology
72
7
9.7
Mechanical and industrial engineering and technology
1 046
104
9.9
Civil engineering
1 522
76
5.0
Geomatic engineering
221
27
12.2
1 295
138
10.7
Aerospace engineering and technology
733
28
3.8
Maritime engineering and technology
167
0
0.0
5.6
Electrical and electronic engineering and technology
Other engineering and related technologies
3 228
182
12 605
766
6.1
Architecture and urban environment
3 866
391
10.1
Building
1 546
210
13.6
Sub-total architecture and building
5 371
590
11.0
Agriculture, environmental and related studies
493
26
5.3
Agriculture
840
53
6.3
Horticulture and viticulture
189
21
11.1
Forestry studies
28
1
3.6
Fisheries studies
43
1
2.3
2 064
197
9.5
158
4
2.5
3 784
302
8.0
7.1
Sub-total engineering and related technologies
Environmental studies
Other agriculture, environmental and related studies
Sub-total agriculture, environmental and related studies
Health
238
17
3 348
18
0.5
11 835
2 619
22.1
1 311
1
0.1
Dental studies
676
37
5.5
Optical science
166
0
0.0
Veterinary studies
605
0
0.0
Public health
1 705
162
9.5
Radiography
736
14
1.9
Rehabilitation therapies
3 686
109
3.0
Complementary therapies
1 538
29
1.9
Medical studies
Nursing
Pharmacy
Other health
Sub-total health
10
6 332
476
7.5
31 852
3 466
10.9
The role of educational institutions in fostering vocations
Basis of admission
Education
Teacher education
Curriculum and education studies
Other education
Sub-total education
Total
VET basis
% VET basis
779
0
0.0
19 654
2 641
13.4
486
39
8.0
1 966
320
16.3
13.2
22 446
2 956
Management and commerce
6 725
506
7.5
Accounting
3 768
596
15.8
19 740
2 486
12.6
2 482
424
17.1
343
49
14.3
Business and management
Sales and marketing
Tourism
Office studies
1
0
0.0
Banking, finance and related fields
1 413
138
9.8
Other management and commerce
4 638
293
6.3
Sub-total management and commerce
38 097
4 417
11.6
Society and culture
13 546
528
3.9
848
22
2.6
Studies in human society
6 872
518
7.5
Human welfare studies and services
5 594
831
14.9
Behavioural science
6 690
441
6.6
Law
8 239
196
2.4
Justice and law enforcement
2 997
723
24.1
163
60
36.8
Language and literature
1 790
56
3.1
Philosophy and religious studies
1 825
98
5.4
Economics and econometrics
2 272
54
2.4
566
81
14.3
Political science and policy studies
Librarianship, information management and curatorial studies
Sport and recreation
Other society and culture
7 078
380
5.4
55 062
3 904
7.1
205
6
2.9
Performing arts
3 514
223
6.3
Visual arts and crafts
2 676
300
11.2
Graphic and design studies
2 601
350
13.5
Communication and media studies
9 240
486
5.3
Sub-total society and culture
Creative arts
Other creative arts
Sub-total creative arts
Food and hospitality
Sub-total food, hospitality and personal services
General education programs
Other mixed field programs
2 418
77
3.2
20 507
1 434
7.0
58
4
6.9
58
4
6.9
6 660
18
0.3
124
0
0.0
Sub-total mixed field programs
6 784
18
0.3
Non-award
8 011
120
1.5
Sub-total non-award courses
8 011
120
1.5
206 939
18 540
9.0
Total
Source: Special data request from the Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations, 6 August 2009.
NCVER reports states and territories’ statistical collections on the previous highest education level
of publicly funded vocational education students. The results for students enrolled in 2009 are
shown in table 3. The figures are for all students — not just commencing students as reported for
higher education above — and for students studying at all levels. It should also be noted that NCVER
reports only previous qualifications completed, not those studied, as reported by higher education.
It will be noted that 7.1% of vocational students have completed a bachelor degree or higher and
NCVER
11
that 20.5% of students have a prior vocational education qualification — advanced diploma, diploma
or certificate I to IV.
Table 3
Vocational students’ highest prior education level, 2009
Previous highest education level
Number
%
Bachelor degree/higher degree level
120 915
7.1
Advanced diploma/associate degree
24 038
1.4
Diploma
64 214
3.8
Certificate IV
69 068
4.0
Certificate III
156 948
9.2
Year 12
382 561
22.4
Year 11
171 372
10.0
Certificate II
Year 10
Certificate I
Miscellaneous education
Year 9 or lower
Did not go to school
Not known
Total
30 041
1.8
288 348
16.9
4 918
0.3
12 332
0.7
124 226
7.3
5 121
0.3
252 576
14.8
1 706 678
100.0
Source: NCVER National VET Provider Collection (2010, unpublished).
These results are shown by field of education in table 4. It can be seen that 12.6% of publicly funded
vocational education students in the natural and physical sciences hold a bachelor degree or higher.
Some of these may be bachelor of science graduates gaining a laboratory skills qualification; similarly,
the sizeable number of graduates studying vocational education in information technology may be
graduates in the same field seeking practical skills.
The available data on tertiary education pathways give some idea of the movement of students
between educational levels by field of education. These show that most transfers are within tertiary
education sectors, not between them. Thus, 23% of undergraduate higher education students were
admitted on the basis of other higher education studies, while only 9% were admitted on the basis of
vocational studies; 7.1% of vocational students’ highest prior qualification was a baccalaureate or
higher, while 20.5% had another vocational qualification. The data also show that tertiary education
transfers differ markedly by field of education. Unfortunately none of the data readily available reports
the field of education of the source program, so it is not possible to calculate the extent of transfer
between fields of education and whether these might vary by field of source or destination program.
12
The role of educational institutions in fostering vocations
Table 4
Vocational students’ highest prior education level, by field of education, 2009 (%)
Previous highest education level
Major program field of education
Natural,
physical
sciences
IT
Eng. and
related
techs
Archit.
and
building
Ag.,
environ.
Health
Education
Mgt and
comm.
Society
and
culture
Creative
arts
Food,
hosp.,
personal
services
Mixed
field
Bachelor degree/higher degree level
12.6
9.8
3.2
3.2
7.6
8.5
19.0
7.9
9.3
9.7
4.5
8.2
Advanced diploma/associate degree
1.5
1.7
1.0
0.8
1.4
2.0
3.0
1.6
1.5
1.8
1.1
1.3
Diploma
5.3
5.1
2.3
1.9
3.3
5.6
7.5
5.1
4.9
5.2
2.1
3.0
Certificate IV
7.8
8.0
2.8
2.5
3.6
8.5
6.3
5.5
5.1
6.9
1.8
2.2
Certificate III
11.6
10.3
11.1
8.7
10.3
13.2
8.9
9.2
13.9
6.9
5.5
5.5
Year 12
32.9
25.2
26.0
24.8
17.9
20.7
13.9
26.0
24.3
25.7
21.5
15.4
Year 11
6.4
8.3
11.9
12.9
9.8
7.5
4.8
10.0
8.3
9.8
14.5
6.5
Certificate II
1.0
2.5
1.8
1.5
2.8
1.4
0.7
1.8
1.7
1.5
2.2
2.0
10.1
12.9
20.9
22.6
19.1
12.0
8.3
15.4
14.2
15.6
22.4
15.0
Certificate I
0.1
0.2
0.3
0.2
0.3
0.1
0.2
0.1
0.2
0.3
0.2
0.9
Miscellaneous education
0.6
0.3
0.6
0.5
1.0
0.8
1.7
0.5
0.7
0.5
0.4
1.2
Year 9 or lower
2.8
3.8
6.0
6.5
9.0
3.9
6.5
5.2
4.8
5.1
6.9
18.2
Did not go to school
0.0
0.1
0.2
0.1
0.3
0.1
0.8
0.1
0.4
0.1
0.1
1.1
Not known
7.4
11.9
11.9
13.9
13.7
15.7
18.5
11.5
10.8
10.9
16.8
19.6
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
Year 10
Total
Source: NCVER National VET Provider Collection (2010 unpublished).
NCVER
13
The loose fit between vocational
qualifications and work
In Australia each VET program is related directly to a job or a work role. Its programs comprise units
of competence specified in training packages:
Units of Competency in Training Packages are developed by industry to meet the identified skill
needs of industry. Each unit of competency identifies a discrete workplace requirement and
includes the knowledge and skills that underpin competency as well as language, literacy and
numeracy; and occupational health and safety requirements. The units of competency must be
adhered to in assessment to ensure consistency of outcomes.
(Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations 2011a)
Because of this, vocational education is often contrasted with higher education, which at least in
principle educates students in disciplines which may be applied in different contexts and in different
occupations. One would therefore expect that, while there may be a relatively loose fit between the
field of education of higher education graduates in at least the liberal arts and sciences and the jobs
they get, there is a reasonably close association between the field of education of vocational
graduates and the jobs they occupy soon after graduation. However, this is not the case.
Each training package is designed to prepare graduates for an occupation that is classified in the
Australian and New Zealand Standard Classification of Occupations (ANZSCO) into one of eight major
groups and into one of 43 sub-major groups. Thus, the certificate III in information technology is
classified in the sub-major group 31 — engineering, ICT and science technicians — which is part of the
major group 3, technicians and trades workers. Other sub-major groups in technicians and trades
workers are: 32, automotive and engineering trades workers; 33, construction trades workers; 34,
electrotechnology and telecommunications trades workers; 35, food trades workers, skilled animal
and horticultural workers; and 39, other technicians and trades workers.
A stratified, random sample of VET graduates is surveyed using the Student Outcomes Survey six
months after completing their program, wherein they report on their outcomes, which include their
occupation at the time of completing the survey. Karmel, Mlotkowski and Awodeyi (2008) compared
the occupational classification of graduates’ training package with the classification of their
occupation. They found, for example, that only 20.6% of graduates who completed an engineering,
ICT (information and communications technology) or science technician training package were
employed as an engineering, ICT or science technician six months after graduating in 2007 (Karmel,
Mlotkowski & Awodeyi 2008, p.10). Some 29.9% of engineering, ICT or science technician graduates
were employed as technicians and trades workers, which means that 9.3% were employed as
technicians or trades workers in other fields.
Only 47.8% of all vocational graduates in 2007 were employed in their relevant major occupational
group and an even smaller 36.6% were employed in the sub-major group of their training package.
(This rate has fallen in subsequent years.) However, there is considerable variation between
occupations. Other training packages had matches at the major occupational group and sub-major
group even lower than engineering, ICT or science technician graduates, the lowest being arts and
14
The role of educational institutions in fostering vocations
media professionals (22.2%, 7.5%1), specialist managers (14.6%, 8.3%) and hospitality, retail and
service managers (12.6%, 10.5%). On the other hand, some training packages had very high matches:
electrotechnology and telecommunications trades workers (92.1%, 85.7%), cleaners and laundry
workers (88.8%, 84.8%) and construction trades workers (86.1%, 81.1%). Overall, 60.6% of technicians
and trades workers worked in their own trade and 66.7% worked in some trade, giving 6.1% working in
a trade other than the trade for which they were trained and 33.3% not working in any trade (Karmel,
Mlotkowski & Awodeyi 2008, p.10).
The Student Outcomes Survey asks students for their main reason for studying. Some 77.7% of
graduates in 2007 said that their main reason for studying was related to employment. Of those,
51.1% were employed in their intended major occupation group and 39.7% were employed in their
intended sub-major occupation group. The match for engineering, ICT or science technician graduates
who studied for employment reasons increased to 32.5% in the major occupational group and 23.7% in
the sub-major occupational group. However, the matching was much higher for the 25.4% of
graduates who completed an apprenticeship or traineeship (70.8%, 60.7%) and higher still for
graduates who completed an apprenticeship or traineeship in the technician and trade occupations
(88.6%, 84.6%; Karmel, Mlotkowski & Awodeyi 2008, pp.12, 13).
ANZSCO classifies each of its 43 sub-major occupational groups into 1 of the 5 levels shown in table 5.
Table 5
ANZSCO skill levels and corresponding education levels
Skill level
Education level
1
Bachelor degree or higher
2
Associate degree, advanced diploma or diploma
3
Certificate IV or a certificate III and at least 2 years of on the job training
4
Certificate II or III
5
Certificate I or compulsory school education
Source: Adapted from ABS (2005, p.13).
Karmel, Mlotkowski and Awodeyi (2008, p.14) compare vocational graduates’ level of qualification
with the skill level of their occupation to find that, of the 51.2% of graduates in 2007 who were not
employed in their intended occupation of training, 25.5% were employed at the same skill level or
higher and 16.0% were employed at a lower skill level, with the balance of 9.7% employed in
occupations with an unknown skill level.
The Down the Track Survey collects occupational data from vocational graduates aged from 15 to 24
years 30 months after their graduation. Karmel, Mlotkowski and Awodeyi (2008, p.15) report that,
while the proportion of young graduates in the occupation for which they trained declines from 43.1%
some six months after graduation to 40.5% some 30 months after graduation, the proportion of young
graduates employed at a lower skill level also declines from 39.7% to 36.4%. They also found that the
proportion of professionals and associate professionals in jobs for which they trained had increased
appreciably by 30 months after graduation, from which Karmel, Mlotkowski and Awodeyi (2008, p.15)
conclude that the matching process takes some time for the higher-skilled occupations.
The Student Outcomes Survey asks graduates the extent to which their training was relevant to their
current occupation. Karmel, Mlotkowski and Awodeyi (2008, p.19) report the proportion of graduates
who said that their training was highly or somewhat relevant to their occupation even if it wasn’t the
occupation for which they trained. Overall, 36.6% of graduates in 2007 were employed in the
1
Relative standard error > 25%.
NCVER
15
occupation for which they had been trained and 41.2% said that their training was highly or somewhat
relevant, even though they were employed in an occupation for which they had not been trained. So
graduates’ training was directly or indirectly relevant to 77.8% of graduates. This was quite variable,
ranging from 84.8% for technicians and trades workers to 73.2% of community and personal service
workers reporting that their training was directly or indirectly relevant to their occupation six months
after graduation. Conversely, 14.2% of technicians and trades workers reported that their training had
little or no relevance to their occupation, in contrast to 25.6% of community and personal service
workers (table 6).
Table 6
VET graduates in 2007 who were employed 6 months after graduation showing the
occupation for which they were trained, % employed in intended occupation and relevance
of training to occupation not intended by training
Intended occupation
Employed in
intended
occupation
Not employed in
intended occupation
Training has
very little
or no
relevance
%
Occupation
after training
unknown
%
Training is
highly or
somewhat
relevant
%
Training
relevance
unknown
%
%
Managers
14.1
65.9
19.1
0.1*
0.8
Professionals
21.5
52.6
24.4
0.3**
1.2*
Technicians and trades workers
60.6
24.2
14.2
0.1*
0.9
Community and personal service
workers
43.8
29.4
25.6
0.2*
1.0
Clerical and administrative workers
23.0
53.7
22.3
0.1*
0.9
Sales workers
45.2
37.3
17.1
0.1**
0.3*
Machinery operators and drivers
26.6
47.7
24.7
0.2*
0.7
Labourers
25.5
49.9
22.5
0.3*
1.9
Total
36.6
41.2
21.1
0.2
1.0
Notes:
* Relative standard error greater than 25%; estimate should be used with caution.
** Fewer than 5 respondents in cell.
Source: Karmel, Mlotkowski and Awodeyi (2008, p.19, table 9).
Karmel, Mlotkowski and Awodeyi (2008, p.21) note that high proportions of graduates of some training
packages report that their training was of little or no relevance to their occupation: these groups of
graduates include arts and media professionals, 63.6% of whom report that their training was of little
or no relevance to their occupation, sports and personal service workers (45.0%), ICT professionals
(36.7%), road and rail drivers (35.3%), hospitality workers (34.0%) and engineering, ICT and science
technicians (31.2%). Karmel and colleagues conclude:
It appears that a narrow view of VET is appropriate only for a few courses. There are a number of
trade courses (plus a couple of others) where it makes sense to design the course around a
particular occupational setting. These courses would appear to fit very naturally into the world of
training packages developed by industry skills councils. However, the majority of courses do not
fit into this pattern, and the majority of graduates do not end up in the occupation which is the
‘intended’ occupation for the course. Most of VET is generic in this sense. This does not imply that
the industry focus of VET is wrong, but it does imply that course designers need to be very wary of
the range of contexts in which graduates are likely to use the skills they have acquired. It also
implies that planners need to be very wary of trying to match training to particular occupations.
This view is supported by the finding that the distribution of employment after completion of
vocational training bears closer correspondence to the overall workforce distribution of
16
The role of educational institutions in fostering vocations
employment than it does to the intended areas of training. This, according to Cully et al. (2006),
suggests that labour demand holds sway over supply and that the generic skills delivered through
VET are valuable to employers.
(Karmel, Mlotkowski & Awodeyi 2008, p.23)
Karmel, Mlotkowski and Awodeyi’s work is an example of studies of the match between individuals’
years of education, qualifications and skills, and those required for their current job. There are now
extensive studies of education, qualifications and skills mismatches for all levels of the workforce in
many Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries, where a variety of
methods have been used.2 About 30% of Australian workers have education, qualifications or skills
that are not well matched to their job. This is because, variously, some workers are in jobs that don’t
need their level of education (education underuse), some are in jobs which normally require a higher
level or longer education (undereducation), some workers are in jobs which don’t need their
particular qualification (qualification underuse), some are in jobs for which they are not qualified
(underqualification), some workers are in jobs that don’t use all their skills (skills underuse) and some
workers are in jobs for which they are not fully skilled (underskilling). This report uses the terms
education, qualifications and skills underuse just as unemployment is understood as labour underuse:
it suggests that human capital is not being used fully. Most of the literature refers to overeducation,
overqualification and overskilling, which suggests that there has been excessive investment in human
capital. Although different data collections and different methods of analysis make international
comparisons difficult and, indeed, hazardous, Australia’s level of education, qualifications and skills
mismatches seem broadly consistent with other OECD countries.
The causes of skills mismatch have been much debated and there are several competing explanations.
However, skills mismatch (and low levels of training) are strongly associated with casual employment.
This is evident from Watson’s analysis of data from the Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in
Australia (HILDA) Survey, an annual survey of 7682 households and 19 914 individuals which started in
2001. Watson (2008, p.12) fitted two regression models to the survey to find that casualised work has
one of the strongest effects on skills mismatch, demonstrating that the link between contingent work
and skills use is not merely due to occupational differences. He observes that the Australian
workforce has become increasingly casualised during a period of strong employment growth and low
unemployment levels, at least for the recent past:
One of the distinguishing features of the last decade has been strong employment growth
alongside an expansion in contingent employment. While much of this expansion has been
underway for several decades, its persistence during a period of buoyant economic growth has
been startling. Thus, whereas the unemployment rate reached an historic low of 4 per cent during
this period, the underutilisation rate — which incorporates a measure of under-employment — was
still above 11 per cent in 2007.
Casual employment has not only grown strongly during the last two decades, but it has steadily
expanded into new areas and made inroads into the full-time workforce. There has been strong
growth in ‘traditional’ areas of casualisation, industries where fluctuating time periods of
consumer demand or seasonal factors have pushed employers towards engaging staff in this way.
However, there has also been strong growth in industries which do not fit this pattern of
fluctuation or seasonality, industries like finance and insurance, where there has been a tripling
of casualisation rates over this period.
2
(Watson 2008, p.16)
See CEDEFOP (2010); Galasi (2008); Linsley (2005); Mavromaras, McGuinness and Fok (2010); McGuinness (2006);
Messinist and Olekalns (2006, 2007); Miller (2007); Richardson et al. (2006); Ryan and Sinning (2011); Sohn (2010); and
Watson (2008).
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17
The uncertainty of the labour market may also undermine individuals’ and employers’ long-term
investment in vocational education. We make a first attempt to analyse educational and occupational
progression in the next section.
18
The role of educational institutions in fostering vocations
Relating educational and
occupational progression
Previous studies
Most studies of education, qualifications and skills mismatches are of the match at a point in time,
normally the time at which an employee or employer survey is conducted. There are few longitudinal
studies of education, qualifications and skills mismatches because of the difficulty and expense of
tracking employees or employers over an extended time. However, the HILDA Survey asks all
employed respondents their level of agreement with the statement: ‘I use many of my abilities in my
current job’ from 1 (strongly agree) to 7 (strongly disagree). Mavromaras, McGuinness and Wooden
(2007, p.307) interpret this as a question about skills matching and classify employees who responded
1 to 3 as well matched, responses 4 and 5 as moderate skills underuse and responses 6 and 7 as severe
skills underuse. (They actually use the terms severely and moderately overskilled.)
Mavromaras, McGuinness and Wooden (2007, p.310) found that 9.7% of respondents who reported that
many of their abilities were used in their current job voluntarily quit their job, compared with 12.1%
whose abilities were moderately underused and 16.5% whose abilities were severely underused. Of
those who reported that their abilities were severely underused in 2001 and quit their job, 23.6%
reported that their abilities were severely underused in 2002 and 24.8% reported that their abilities
were still severely underused four years later in 2005. Of those who reported that their abilities were
moderately underused in 2001 and quit their job, 30.7% reported that their abilities were moderately
underused in 2002 and 34.8% reported that their abilities were still moderately underused in 2005
(table 7).
This suggests that skills mismatches persist in Australia. However, an anonymous reviewer of an
earlier draft of this paper pointed out that these studies are based on respondents’ self-report on only
one question, which is not verified by any other data in the survey. The reviewer suggested that the
persistence of these respondents’ skills mismatches may reflect persisting characteristics of the
respondents rather than of their underuse of skills. The reviewer also suggested that training
programs may promise more sophistication in jobs than is actually the case in practice. More work is
therefore needed to determine whether skills mismatches persist in Australia. However, Mavromaras
and McGuinness (2007, p.281) cite UK and Canadian studies that found that skills mismatches persist
in those countries.
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19
Table 7
Workers who left their job in 2001 and their skills match in 2002 and 2005
% all job
leavers
Status in 2001
% skills
severely
underused
% skills
moderately
underused
% well matched
Skills severely underused
23.6
10.4
11.2
13.4
Skills moderately underused
26.7
30.7
13.1
20.9
Well matched
18.9
37.7
52.4
41.4
Not employed
30.8
21.1
23.3
24.2
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
Status in 2002
Total
Status in 2005
Skills severely underused
24.8
9.8
3.6
9.8
Skills moderately underused
24.0
34.8
19.1
24.7
Well matched
30.2
40.3
60.4
48.3
Not employed
21.0
15.1
16.9
17.2
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
Total
Source: Adapted from Mavromaras, McGuinness and Wooden (2007, p.311, table 2).
Variable career paths are also experienced by Australian trades workers. From June 2000 to October
2001 Webster and Jarvis surveyed 1125 men who were working or had previously worked in a trade in
Australia. Respondents were asked to provide information on their first job and subsequent jobs at age
18, 25, 30, 35 and 40 years. Webster and Jarvis (2003, p.10) found that, of the 611 men who were
40 years or older at the time of the survey, 22% had started as an unskilled worker and had worked in a
trade by the age of 40 by learning on the job. Some 21% had started in a trade and moved to a higher
occupation, 21% had started and stayed in a trade, and 10% had started in a trade and moved to a
lower-level occupation. Thus, the archetypical path from schooling to an apprenticeship to a trade is
followed by only some tradespeople. Furthermore, as an anonymous reviewer of an earlier draft of this
paper pointed out, these results confirm that it is possible to work in a trade without the formal trade
qualification acquired from completing an apprenticeship or getting formal trade recognition.
Martin (2007) examined the net flows of workers in occupational groups by analysing census data for
1981, 1986, 1991, 1996 and 2001. Because of a break in the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS)
classification of occupations in 1991 we examine only changes from 1996 to 2001. Martin (2007,
p.33) constructed synthetic cohorts by taking the number of people in a five-year age cohort in an
occupational group at one census and compared this with the number in the same cohort now five
years older at the next census. This allowed him to calculate net flow of workers in each
occupational group during the period between censuses. An extract from Martin’s (2007, p.35)
results is shown in table 8.
We note that only 9200 men aged 15 to 19 entered the managers and administrators group between
1996 and 2001. However, there was a substantial increase in older men becoming managers and
administrators until they reached their mid-30s, when the net increase slows, and then the number
leaving managerial and administrative occupations begins to increase from age 40. Women follow a
broadly similar pattern, although fewer are appointed as managers and administrators. In contrast
most men enter professional and associate professional occupations when young. Women also enter
professional occupations when young, but there is a net outflow of women during the prime child-
20
The role of educational institutions in fostering vocations
bearing years of 25 to 29 and then a net increase much later than men, until the mid-40s, presumably
with women re-entering professional occupations after child rearing.
Men enter the trades when young, as would be expected, but after age 19 there is a steady loss of
men from the trades for all older age groups. Once they leave the trades men do not appear to reenter them in large numbers (Martin 2007, p.34). As Richardson and colleagues (2006, p.17) observe
about these data: ‘It is clear from this pattern that any problems with shortages of tradespeople is a
problem of retention in the trades, rather than of the quantity of new entrants and levels of training’.
The number of women entering a trade is only 10% of the number of men entering the trades, and
their entry to the trades follows a different pattern, reflecting the different trades undertaken by
women and different labour force participation due to women taking most of the responsibility for
child rearing.
Men enter clerical, sales and service occupations at a young age, with Martin (2007, p.34) finding
evidence that they move from elementary to intermediate skill jobs within these groups up to their
late 20s. Martin (2007, p.34) notes that the net outflow of men from elementary clerical, sales and
service workers in the 35—39 age group (-1700), from intermediate clerical, sales and service workers
(-6400) and from advanced clerical and service workers (-300) is similar to the net inflow to
managerial and administrative positions for this age group (7200) and so suggests that, while
managers come from a range of occupations, it is plausible that much of men’s net outflow from the
three clerical, sales and service occupations after their mid-20s is due to their career progression.
Martin (2007, p.34) notes that women show similar patterns to men in clerical, sales and service
occupations in early career, with significant outflows from elementary occupations and entry into
intermediate and advanced occupations amongst the youngest age cohort. However, women withdrew
from these occupations during child-rearing years. Women’s re-entry to clerical, sales and service
occupations appears to begin at the intermediate skill level, so that many probably obtain jobs at
similar skill levels to those they left. However, while women re-enter these jobs until their mid-40s, it
seems they do not enjoy the career progression to managerial and administrative posts experienced
by men. Indeed, Martin (2007, p.34) notes that there may be a small surge in re-entry to elementary
sales, service and clerical occupations amongst women in their late 40s.
Martin’s synthetic cohort analysis shows broad flows of occupational progression, from which skills
development and perhaps educational progression may be inferred. He conducted a very similar
analysis of changes between the 1986 and 1991 censuses and found similar patterns (Martin 2007,
p.34), suggesting that career progression has not changed much over 15 years.
NCVER
21
Table 8
Net flows of workers into broad occupational groups by sex and age cohort, 1996—2001
Occupational group
Age cohort at beginning of period
15–19
20–24
25–29
30–34
35–39
40–44
45–49
50–54
Men 1996–2001
Managers and administrators
9 200
16 900
20 300
15 400
7 200
-5 600
-19 600
-21 600
Professionals
46 700
31 300
6 600
2 500
-1 100
-7 700
-1 800
-5 300
Associate professionals
30 900
19 900
5 700
4 900
-4 600
5 200
-8 500
-10 500
Tradespersons and related workers
56 000
-18 200
-10 600
-14 800
-11 000
-6 300
-3 200
-13 400
Advanced clerical and service workers
2 400
-1 800
-1 600
-1 600
-300
-1 200
-500
-800
Intermediate clerical, sales and service workers
33 100
-6 600
-1 300
-7 000
-6 400
-1 200
-2 100
-6 900
Intermediate production and transport workers
14 500
4 700
-1 400
8 800
8 500
-2 700
-9 000
-8 700
Elementary clerical, sales and service workers
-3 700
-14 200
-5 300
-3 500
-1 700
1 700
-600
-2 700
Labourers and related workers
-8 700
-13 900
10 000
-8 200
-8 700
-5 300
-5 400
-1 100
Women 1996–2001
Managers and administrators
5 400
11 900
7 600
3 600
3 400
-1 500
-700
-6 800
Professionals
60 500
44 500
-3 200
8 300
8 300
3 300
-7 600
-15 500
Associate professionals
30 600
17 600
5 900
4 300
6 200
5 400
-3 100
-5 900
5 800
-4 600
-2 500
500
400
1 000
-2 800
-1 300
Tradespersons and related workers
Advanced clerical and service workers
13 100
-4 400
-10 900
-5 800
0
-3 900
-6 300
-7 800
Intermediate clerical, sales and service workers
74 200
-28 800
-13 100
10 200
17 700
5 700
-5 000
-9 800
Intermediate production and transport workers
-100
-2 800
-2 600
-4 300
-1 300
-2 700
-2 500
-4 900
Elementary clerical, sales and service workers
-49 300
-35 200
-700
1 900
2 300
10 000
-5 000
-7 300
-1 800
-6 700
-3 300
-2 200
1 400
-3 300
-7 500
-7 200
Labourers and related workers
Source: Extracted from Martin (2007, p.35, table 9).
22
The role of educational institutions in fostering vocations
Occupational and educational progression
So far the working paper has reviewed studies of occupational progression. There is another literature
on educational progression from school to vocational education and from school and vocational
education to higher education. This research stream aims to investigate the relation between
occupational and educational progression, which has been investigated much less. While the new
Australian Qualifications Framework (AQF) introduced in 2011 states that the purpose of every
qualification except the highest qualification (which is the doctoral qualification) includes being ‘a
pathway for further learning’ (AQF Council 2011, pp.7—10), this is a recent requirement and is not yet
strongly implemented in vocational education. Therefore, although Australian vocational
qualifications may be strongly linked to their corresponding jobs, they are not necessarily strongly
linked to other qualifications. This is illustrated schematically in figure 1, where a larger and heavier
arrow indicates a strong relation, and a smaller and finer arrow indicates a weak relation. Possible
exceptions to this pattern are so called ‘nested programs’, where, for example, a certificate III forms
part of its corresponding certificate IV.
Figure 1 Vocational education’s internal relations and relations with work
Certificate IV

Certificate IV job

Certificate III

Certificate III job
In contrast, higher education programs are based on disciplinary knowledge or applied disciplinary
knowledge and most programs in each field are strongly related to other programs in the field, often
sequentially based on a hierarchy of knowledge. However, most higher education programs are not as
strongly related to a corresponding job as vocational programs. So, while higher education programs
may be strongly linked to other higher education programs, they are not necessarily strongly linked to
work. This is illustrated schematically in figure 2.
Figure 2 Higher education’s internal relations and relations with work
Bachelor

Bachelor job

Diploma job

Diploma
An exception is nursing, where the diploma of nursing (enrolled/division 2 nursing) is strongly related
occupationally to enrolled nursing and also educationally to the bachelor of nursing, which in turn is
NCVER
23
strongly related occupationally to registered nursing. There is therefore a strong educational
progression from the diploma of nursing to the bachelor of nursing that corresponds to a strong
occupational progression from enrolled nursing to registered nursing (figure 3).
Figure 3 Nursing’s educational and occupational relations
Bachelor of nursing

Diploma of nursing

Registered nurse

Enrolled nurse

In the wider health areas, though, there is not a strong relation between the diploma of nursing and
any antecedent program, such as the certificate III in aged care, and therefore there is no strong
occupational progression from personal care worker to enrolled nurse. Indeed, it is possible to work as
a personal care worker without a formal qualification (Department of Education, Employment and
Workplace Relations 2011b). Nor is there a strong relation between the bachelor of nursing and the
bachelor of medicine/bachelor of surgery and so there isn’t a strong occupational progression from
registered nurse to medical practitioner (figure 4). The strong interrelations between the diploma and
bachelor of nursing and enrolled and registered nursing seem to sit as a microcosm or a mini skills
ecosystem within health programs and occupations, which are no better linked than other cognate
programs and occupations.
Figure 4 Educational and occupational relations in some health fields
Bachelor of
medicine/bachelor of surgery

Medical practitioner

Registered nurse

Enrolled nurse

Personal care worker

Bachelor of nursing

Diploma of nursing


Certificate III in aged care
A key issue for this project is therefore: is it possible to construct the relationships between programs
and occupations to give strong educational and occupational progression such as there is with nursing,
or is nursing exceptional and unable to inform educational and occupational progression in other
fields? For example, might it be possible to strengthen the educational and occupational progressions
24
The role of educational institutions in fostering vocations
from employment as an accounts clerk, which might be learned on the job or in a certificate IV or
diploma of accounting, to a bachelor of accounting, preparing graduates for employment as an
accountant and the relevant occupational membership?
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25
Discussion
There are competing explanations of the relation between qualifications and occupations, which
suggest different approaches to constructing the relation between education and work. Cully and
colleagues (2006, p.9) observe that:
The interaction between education and training on the one hand, and the labour market on the
other, is complex. The Australian labour market is sophisticated and highly flexible — occupations
in demand are in constant flux, adjusting to changing consumer demand and changing ways of
conducting business. On the supply side, there is a great deal of movement of people between
jobs, and movement in and out of the labour force.
(Cully et al. 2006, p.9)
Arguably, the dynamism and complexity of the interaction between education and the labour market
would thwart any attempt towards systematic reform. However, the relation between education and
occupations has been persistently problematised by employers, who complain about what they call
‘skills shortages’, while employees and their representatives have long been concerned to improve the
employment prospects of people who are unemployed, underemployed, employed casually and who
are in unrewarding jobs without obvious prospects of advancement. It therefore seems worth exploring
the relation between qualifications and occupations to suggest options to ameliorate these problems.
In its roadmap for vocational education and training, Skills Australia (2011, p.45) proposes ‘a broader
focus on workforce development and skills use, rather than a more traditional focus simply on training
and skills formation’. Skills Australia (2009, p.3) says that:
A workforce development approach is characterised by policies and practices which support
people to participate effectively in the workforce and to develop and apply skills in a workplace …
where learning translates into positive outcomes for enterprises, the wider community and for
individuals throughout their working lives.
(Skills Australia 2009, p.3)
Skills Australia’s interest in workforce development (that is, how an industry attracts, retains and
skills workers) was stimulated by its observation of employers’ extensive underuse of skills (Skills
Australia 2011, p.32) and of unemployment (Skills Australia 2011, p.23) during a period when
employers are experiencing so-called skills shortages, with some employers such as miners reluctant
to recruit inexperienced although qualified workers. It recommends:

amalgamation of a range of enterprise-linked funding programs into a new industry-driven
funding program for workforce development

establishment of an industry-led advisory body to guide the new funding program

redesign of the apprenticeship model and employer incentives to stimulate a broader focus on
workforce development, to be brought under the auspices of the new funding program and
advisory body

simplification and redesign of services for employers, apprentices and trainees, to be brought
under the auspices of the new funding program and advisory body.
[Earlier] we proposed moving individual and enterprise funding to a demand-based approach.
[Here], we detail the proposals for an industry-driven fund to encourage approaches to workforce
development and also reduce the risk of a possible mismatch between student choices and
industry skills requirements.
26
(Skills Australia 2011, p.45)
The role of educational institutions in fostering vocations
While Skills Australia (2011, p.45) says that, ‘The object of the enterprise funding stream is to
improve the connection between enterprise workforce development needs and the provision and
development of skills’, it recommends that the workforce development fund be ‘industry-driven’ to
complement student entitlements and thus the student demand-driven funding it proposed for core
vocational education funding (recommendation 1, p.43). Skills Australia seems to be proposing two
parallel systems: a training system that would respond to student demand and a workforce
development system which would be led by employers. This hardly seems likely to improve the
connection between the supply and demand for skilled workers sought by Skills Australia. To integrate
training and workforce development, a single training and workforce development system would be
required, one that was responsive to students but which had the shared involvement of teachers,
employers and employees.
Brockmann, Clarke and Winch (2009, p.103, citing Rauner 2004, 2007) outline three models of the
relation between qualifications and occupations. In their ‘skills based model’ the capacity of each
individual is measured by the performance of narrowly specified skills in employment, irrespective of
how these skills were acquired. Brockmann and colleagues found bricklaying and truck driving in
England to be in this first family of qualifications. This is closest to Australia’s current provision of
vocational education. The second is the ‘employability model’, in which employers’ primary entry
criterion is a high level of general education, with employees building their stock of skills in response
to labour market demands. This was seen to be the dominant model across the ICT sector, where ‘self
organised learning’ within enterprises was common. Development of a broad notion of the application
of knowledge and skill remained critical, including social and personal applications. Australia’s higher
education is currently closest to this model. Third is the ‘vocational education’ model in nursing in
France, England, Germany and the Netherlands. In this model social partners regulate learning
content, occupational entry and integration with the education and training system, and a broad
notion of occupational competence is upheld.
The uncertainty of the labour market may lead to a diminution of occupational identity. Casual
employment, having more than one job concurrently and changing jobs frequently may reduce
people’s identification with a particular occupation. But Dostal (2009, p.168) argues that: ‘The
declining stability of employment structures and the growing mobility of job holders reduces [sic]
identification with employers and strengthens identification with occupation’. This suggests further
problems with an ‘employer led’ system of vocational education and that these may be overcome by
developing people’s attachment to a vocation. Dostal proposes that vocational education and
employment be organised into 12 broad vocational disciplines, specified by occupational fields or
families. Dostal (2009, p.165) says that:
From the point of view of vocational training those occupational areas or fields are of far higher
significance than single occupations and they characterise the stability of the occupational
landscape in the long run.
We call Dostal’s occupational areas ‘vocational streams’ (Buchanan et al. 2009, p.29). These
encapsulate a broader notion of vocation, one which allows people to accrue skills coherently and
cumulatively and which prepares them for work in a range of occupations at a range of levels. A good
example of a vocational stream is modern logistics. It often involves production workers using kan ban
(just in time) systems as well as those in warehouses, transport and those taking delivery of the good
or service. Other vocational streams appear to operate in care work, customer service, engineering,
business services and information technology (Buchanan et al. 2009, p.29).
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A somewhat different approach is the vocational principle (Berufskonzept) that informs Germany’s
vocational education. The German concept of a vocation is broader than the Anglo concept of an
occupation and signifies ‘a body of systematically related theoretical knowledge (Wissen) and a set of
practical skills (Können), as well as the social identity of the person who has acquired these’ (Streeck
1996, p.145, cited in Clarke & Winch 2006, p.262). Achievement of such an identity depends on
passing an examination and is certified by a qualification, which is recognised by all employers and
associated with a particular status, wage grade and social value (Clarke & Winch 2006, p.262).
A vocation (Beruf) integrates three domains, which are segmented in Anglo societies: occupational
standards, educational standards and the labour market (Hellwig 2005, p.2, citing Deissinger 1998,
p.248). Thus, Germany’s federal law on vocational education defines about 350 apprenticeships
(Ausbildungsberufe). Employees, employers, government authorities and other social partners define
the occupational standards of each vocation. Vocational colleges (Berufsschulen) and employers train
apprentices to meet the relevant occupational standards defined by a federal law, following a
curriculum and on-the-job training specified by a state law and monitored by regional chambers of
commerce. Employers recruit staff in each vocation, confident of the skills and knowledge that
members of the vocation have, while employees know that membership of a vocation makes them
employable in that vocation by employers in a wide range of contexts (Ertl 2006, p.112). The German
vocational principle also integrates three levels of governance: the federal level, which establishes a
stable organisational and political framework; the state (Land) level, which specifies curriculum and
pedagogy; and the regional level, which monitors adherence to educational standards (Hellwig 2005,
p.3, citing Deissinger 1998, pp.183, 251).
A broader approach is to consider vocational education and occupational progression as developing
people’s capabilities. ‘Capabilities’ and ‘capacities’ are often used in the higher education literature
to distinguish them from the general or employability skills distinctive of vocational education. This
paper adopts the broader notion of capabilities as developed by Sen (1999) and Nussbaum (2000). Sen
(1993, p.47) and Nussbaum (2000, pp.292—8) describe capabilities as what people are able to be and
do and they argue for the construction of resources and social arrangements to support them. Sen and
Nussbaum go beyond individual attributes, which are often the subject of the higher education
capabilities literature, to consider the social, economic and cultural conditions that are required to
realise capability.
Sen and Nussbaum distinguish between capabilities and functionings. Capabilities refer to people’s
capacity to act, while achieved functionings refer to the outcomes that ensue when they choose to
use their capabilities to achieve a particular goal. A complex set of capabilities provides individuals
with the basis for making choices in their lives, whereas functionings are the outcomes when they
exercise choice. A particular set of capabilities can produce any number of outcomes. Walker and
Unterhalter (2007, p.4) explain that: ‘The difference between a capability and functioning is one
between an opportunity to achieve and the actual achievement, between potential and outcome’.
Sen (1993, p.31) distinguishes between functionings and capabilities in this way. Two people with
similar capabilities may make choices that result in different functionings or outcomes.
Sen’s human capability is different from human capital:
At the risk of oversimplification, it can be said that the literature on human capital tends to
concentrate on the agency of human beings in augmenting production possibilities. The
perspective of human capability focuses, on the other hand, on the ability — the substantive
freedom — of people to lead the lives they have reason to value and to enhance the real choices
they have. The two perspectives cannot but be related, since both are concerned with the role of
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The role of educational institutions in fostering vocations
human beings, and in particular with the actual abilities that they achieve and acquire. But the
yardstick of assessment concentrates on different achievements.
(Sen 2001, p.99)
A capabilities approach may help to provide more curricula coherence between vocational and higher
education and thus support pathways and help to overcome discontinuities in flows in education,
particularly if both seek the development of practitioners capable of autonomous reasoning
(Buchanan et al. 2009).
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Conclusion
The paper opened by reviewing the data available on student transfers in tertiary education, which
found that most transfers are within vocational or higher education, not between the sectors. It then
reviewed some of the research, which has found that there is not a close match between tertiary
education and occupations. About 30% of workers seem to be in jobs not well matched to their years
of education, qualifications or skills. This seems to be the case for all tertiary education except that
which prepares graduates for licensed occupations such as electrician or physician and seems to apply
to many countries, including Australia. While this may be expected for higher education, particularly
in the liberal arts and sciences, which give students a general academic education, it is unexpected
and may be problematic for Australian vocational education, which is based on developing
workplace competences.
The paper then reviewed some of the limited longitudinal studies of Australian workers’ changes in
occupation to find some patterns of occupational progression; however, many more changes that do
not seem to follow a pattern were found. The paper proposed an analytical framework to consider
occupational and educational progression based on the educational and occupational progression from
diploma of nursing, leading to an enrolled nurse, to bachelor of nursing, leading to a registered nurse.
Finally, the paper considered competing explanations of the relation between qualifications and
occupations, which suggest different approaches to constructing the relation between education and
work. The research team plans to explore these approaches, developing the most promising model for
building pathways within and between education and work. One possibility may be to investigate
associate degrees, which are relatively new in Australia and where enrolments have increased greatly
in the last six years, from just under 1000 equivalent full-time students in 2004, to 6600 equivalent
full-time student load in 2010. Higher education associate degrees may be displacing vocational
diplomas as a different kind of ‘cross over’ qualification (Karmel & Nguyen 2003) between
intermediate and professional occupations. They may also be a bridge between lower- and higherlevel tertiary qualifications.
The research team invites comments on the issues raised in the paper.
Acknowledgment
We thank an anonymous reviewer of an earlier draft of this paper, all of whose helpful suggestions
have been incorporated in the paper.
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Support document details
Additional information relating to this research is available in The role of educational institutions
in fostering vocations: support document. It can be accessed from NCVER’s website
<http://www.ncver.edu.au/publications/2537.html>.
It explores available data and their usefulness in understanding patterns of movement and student
outcomes within education, and between education and work.
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33
NVETR Program funding
This work has been produced by NCVER under the National Vocational Education and Training
Research (NVETR) Program, which is coordinated and managed by NCVER on behalf of the Australian
Government and state and territory governments. Funding is provided through the Department of
Industry, Innovation, Science, Research and Tertiary Education.
The NVETR Program is based on priorities approved by ministers with responsibility for vocational
education and training. This research aims to improve policy and practice in the VET sector. For
further information about the program go to the NCVER website <http://www.ncver.edu.au>. The
author/project team was funded to undertake this research via a grant under the NVETR Program.
These grants are awarded to organisations through a competitive process, in which NCVER does not
participate.
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The role of educational institutions in fostering vocations